Students recreate ‘The Meeting’
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. died after anassassin’s bullet took his life while he stood on the balconyof the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn.
Forty-four years later his famous tale would be told, this timeby college students wanting to revive the dream King worked toachieve.
“The Meeting,” a one act play by Jeff Stetson, willbe performed next week by three theatre majors, first-years KevinDaniels and Isreal Scott and sophomore Bechir Sylvain.
Sylvain, who portrays Malcolm X in addition to his duties asdirector, sees this show as an opportunity to relay the emotionsand aspirations of the past years.
“There are issues covered in the play that I feel aregoing on in the psyche of African-Americans these days,” hesaid. “We must remember the goals that these men had, as theydon’t seem to be stressed too much any more.”
“The Meeting” highlights the first enencounterbetween King and Malcolm X that took place on March 26, 1964 inMalcolm X’s hotel room.
Sylvain stressed the importance of the men as a team, not simplyas individual names or faces.
“Both of the mens’ dreams must be fullyrecognized,” he said.
“Oftentimes, people forget about the dreams of Malcolm X,since the King speech is so publicized. “Without one of thetwo, you cannot have the other,” Sylvain said.
Scott, who will be playing King, also feels passionately aboutthe torch of equality that must continue to be passed.
“I hope the audience asks themselves ‘Have wereached the dream of equality?'” he said. “Thedream should not die.”
Scott also knows that the role of King comes with certainchallenges that an actor must overcome.
“The most difficult part [of portraying King] has beenkeeping his voice,” he said. “I’m trying to notemulate his voice, and it’s tough to play someone 20 yearsolder than me.”
While Scott looks for the audience to leave with an accuratevision of King, Sylvain wants the viewers to take away a greaterunderstanding of the visions of the two men.
“The Meeting” stresses the men as human beings, notjust as images, which is one of the great qualities of theplay,” he said. “What I want is to inspire everyone andto make them really take in some of the words that aresaid.”
Sylvain also views the show as a building block toward a futureof equality.
“Right now most of us just know these men as clips ormoments that appear on TV, but this play exposes the truth,”Sylvain said. “If we don’t know the history, thenit’s impossible for us to move toward the future.”
“The Meeting” will show on Monday and Tuesday roomB349 in the Meadows School of the Arts. The show starts at 9 p.m.and is free of charge.
